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Crosscurrents

With COVID-19 Tests Backlogged, Long Delays Add To Confusion

Flickr user The National Guard (CC BY 2.0)
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A National Guard member collects a COVID-19 test-kit specimen.

By now, over four months into the shelter-in-place ordinance, you’ve probably swapped testing stories — or been on a Zoom call featuring questions such as: How did you get an appointment? Did it hurt? How long to get the test results?

Answers to these questions and people's experiences are all over the place. To add to the confusion, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced new testing guidelines as cases continue to rise in California, and labs are becoming backlogged. Some testing sites are reporting waits as long as 14 days for results, which is about the amount of time you’re supposed to quarantine. The new rules are intended to smooth this out and ensure the most vulnerable get tested first.

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Crosscurrents healthCOVID Updates